Australia today announced up to 2.18 billion US dollars in grants and cheap loans to Pacific countries for building infrastructure. The announcement came in the backdrop of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in port Moresby scheduled next week.<br />''  <br />'' Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australia wants to work with the Pacific Islands partners to build a Pacific region that is secure strategically, stable economically and sovereign politically.<br />''  <br />'' Morrison underscored a series of security, economic and diplomatic initiatives, including the donation of patrol boats and the development of a joint military base in Papua New Guinea. This comes in the backdrop of piling investments by China into the Pacific, sending ever more fishing vessels deeper into its waters and reportedly mulling the construction of a military base on Vanuatu.<br />''  <br />'' Australia has long been a major political player in much of the south and west Pacific but has lost ground with China ploughing massive investment into the region as part of its "Belt and Road" initiative. <br />''  <br />'' Although the Pacific islands are small in size, and a less vital waterway for trade than the contested South China Sea, their exclusive economic zones make up a massive proportion of the world's maritime assets. And the region has become increasingly important as Beijing has signalled its intent to develop a "Blue Water" navy that can project Chinese power far beyond its coastal waters.<br />''  <br />'' <br />